New Full Timers

[TheNescios]

2019 Grand Design Solitude 3740BH
2019 Chevrolet 3500HD Duramax
Relatively new full timers, since May of 2020
Have been planning this for a few years and so far loving it!?
And making it more interesting, our 2 year old granddaughter has been living with us full-time

[TucsonJim]

Welcome to the forum. How is the Solitude holding up for you?

Jim

[TheNescios]

So far, we're pretty happy with it! I work with someone that's been doing the full time rv life for quite a few years, he and his wife are on their 2nd Grand Design and say nothing but good things about the brand.
We looked for about 3 years at almost every brand and style of rv out there before settling on this one.
No rv will have 100% of everything you want, (we looked at every option there was from Class A's to pop-up tent trailers), but this one checked off the most important things we'd decided we wanted.
We purchased it new in February in another state as they had a new 2019 for a decent price, needed a few things addressed as part of the delivery inspection which the dealer was in the process of taking care of when Covid hit and the world went sideways. Had to get it shipped up to us in April as we'd sold our home, Covid was still going strong so some things hadn't been addressed, finally Covid is letting up but the local Grand Design dealer (about an hour away) has been backed up so getting the last few things taken care of hasn't gone as quickly as they probably would have been.
Grand Design has a pretty solid reputation so my hope is sometime this year everything will be resolved and this will all be a great story to tell other rv'ers!

[TucsonJim]

So far, we're pretty happy with it! I work with someone that's been doing the full time rv life for quite a few years, he and his wife are on their 2nd Grand Design and say nothing but good things about the brand.
We looked for about 3 years at almost every brand and style of rv out there before settling on this one.
No rv will have 100% of everything you want, (we looked at every option there was from Class A's to pop-up tent trailers), but this one checked off the most important things we'd decided we wanted.
We purchased it new in February in another state as they had a new 2019 for a decent price, needed a few things addressed as part of the delivery inspection which the dealer was in the process of taking care of when Covid hit and the world went sideways. Had to get it shipped up to us in April as we'd sold our home, Covid was still going strong so some things hadn't been addressed, finally Covid is letting up but the local Grand Design dealer (about an hour away) has been backed up so getting the last few things taken care of hasn't gone as quickly as they probably would have been.
Grand Design has a pretty solid reputation so my hope is sometime this year everything will be resolved and this will all be a great story to tell other rv'ers!

The virus has certainly made it difficult to get appointments for service at dealerships. But what a lot of people don't realize is that RV sales are also going through the roof due to the virus. Many people don't want to stay in hotels and risk getting sick. So they have opted to tow their own accommodations. This makes it even busier at the the dealerships and for those of us who are trying to get brand new owners through some of the learning curve. And of course, with all these new RV's, the demand for campgrounds, mobile technicians, etc. is also skyrocketing.

If there is anyway we can help guide you towards doing any of your own repairs or maintenance, by all means ask.

Jim

[TheNescios]

Jim,
I do have a question, are there ever classes at the dealerships or regional events to go over do's & don'ts, lessons learned, etc. type of events?
We're learning, but my cousin put it very well more years ago than I'm going to admit to....
"A Smart man learns from his mistakes..... a Wise man learns from others mistakes"
Chris

[Second Chance]

Jim,
I do have a question, are there ever classes at the dealerships or regional events to go over do's & don'ts, lessons learned, etc. type of events?
We're learning, but my cousin put it very well more years ago than I'm going to admit to....
"A Smart man learns from his mistakes..... a Wise man learns from others mistakes"
Chris

If you haven't already discovered them, check out the Escapees RV Club. They provide a lot of support and services for full-timers (including legal domicile and mail forwarding services). They've recently taken the concept of their RV Boot Camp on-line with RVers Online University:

https://www.escapees.com/education/r...ne-university/

Check out the description and curriculum and see if it's anything you could use.

Rob

[TheNescios]

Rob,
Took a quick peek at the website and intend to take a longer look this weekend.
Thank you!
Chris